Bottle feeding device



July 3, 1956 Filed Nov. 28, 1952 A. C. DAVIS BOTTLE FEEDING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR CZ//czn C. Dav/ls ATTORNEY July 1956 A. c. DAVIS BOTTLE FEEDING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1952 INVENTOR a/kzn apex/7:5

ATTORNEY July 3. 1956 A. c. DAVIS 2,753,037

BOTTLE FEEDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 WW/W ATTORNEY July 3, 1956 A. c. DAVIS BOTTLE FEEDING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 28, 1952 ATTORNEY July 3. 1956 c, DAVIS 2,753,037

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ATTORNEY United States Patent BOTTLE FEEDING DEVICE Allan C. Davis, Baltimore,.Md. Application November 28, 1952, Serial No. 323,078 8 Claims. (CL 198-23) This invention relates to a feeder for upright bottles and the like. It is primarily intended to take bottles from a case unloader whichrhave been placed on a belt and .to spread them out tinto multiple advancing rows and feed them to the pockets in the conveyor of a washing machine.

It has heretofore :been the .ipracticehto place "a reciprocating'agitatortacross the top of the conveyorbeltin order to align the heterogeneous .group of approaching bottles with the guides or ways to guide the bottles intosubstantially parallel .advancing (lines. Then after the bottles had been aligned, itihas been the practice to arrange a reciprocating conveyor to lift :them, one transverse row at a time, and .push them into 'the open pockets of the vertically travelling washing machine conveyor. These devices have involved delay :and considerable breakage and one of the objects of this invention is to feed the bottles without danger of breakage and with less moving parts, and consequently there is less to get out of order, and to feed them more nearly continuously and evenly than has been the practice with the mechanisms heretofore used.

Another object of 'the invention is to avoid the necessity of the separate transverse agitator for the bottles and to avoid also the necessity for returning the bottle elevator in a reciprocating movement to lift successive transverse rows of bottles to a position for horizontal insertion into the washing machine. Another object of the invention is to time the periodic movements of the bottle elevator with and from the bottle washing machine conveyor. Another object of the invention is to move the elevating conveyor in one direction and by a resiliently driven mechanism to avoid undue shock to the bottles and to permit a yielding of the conveyor should the bottles or the conveyor in any manner become bound or caught in operation. Another object of the invention is to retain the bottles in substantially horizontal position, after they have been raised from the vertical position, so that they may surely enter at their leading ends into the pockets of the washing machine conveyor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is plan view of the preferred form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal side elevational view of the invention.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conveyor for elevating the bottles from a vertical to a horizontal position.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the belt conveyor construction.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the elevating conveyor and hold down fingers.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the driving mechanism for the bottle elevating conveyor.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a modification of the conveyors and guides shown in Figure 1.

In the'drawings similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several "views.

A central substantially horizontal conveyor belt 1 is mounted on rollers 2 and 3 and it receives bottles and similar "articles uprightly from a conveyor 4 which may be the 'deliveryconveyor from a case unloader like that in the above noted application and this belt 4 is driven from the unloader. The bottles pass from the unloader belt 't to "the belt l overadead plate 5. They are pushed from this dead plate only by the bottles that are being moved forward by the conveyor 4.

The bottles are received from the unloader and otherwise placed on belt I quite irregularly and in relatively few longitudinally moving lines. 'In order to fill the large nmnbe'roftra'nsversely arranged pockets in the washing machine, the bottles must be spread apart into a multiplicity of forwardly advancing rows. The conveyor belt 1 is therefore widened by additional side conveyors '6 and 7, one at'each side of the central belt and these side belts move over rolls 3, in common with belt 1, and intermediate roller '8. Side guides 11 and 12 are mounted With their leading ends adjacent the sides of the case conveyor 4 and -with *theiropposite ends adjacent the sides "of the washing machine conveyor 13. These side guides are held over the conveyors by projecting rods 14 mounted in the side frames 15 carried by the main frame 16 which also carries the rollers 2, 8, and 3.

Adjacent the guide 1 1 is the arm 17 of the switch 18. Should the arm 17 be firmly contacted by a group or bottles on the conveyor crowding between guides 11 and 1-2, thearm 17 willbe pushed against guide 11 and thereby but oh the driving current for the conveyor 4 to stop the delivery of bottles from that conveyor.

Conveyors 1, 6 and 7 mounted on roll 3 are driven by sprocket d9 on -shaft20 carrying roller 3 and the sprocket is in turn driven by sprocket chain 21 from motor 22 through the Worm drive 23.

Conveyor belt 1 has beneath its top surface a tray 24 on which the belt rests, the ends of this tray extending outwardly from the sides of the belt as at 25 to rest "on the narrower sides of the frame 26. Beyond shaft 27 carrying roller 8, belt land belts 6 and 7 rest on a similar tray 28 mounted on rods 29 and 30 in the sides 16 of the frame, side frames 15 being upstanding edges of tray 28. The lower run of the belts is supported on roller 31. Belt 1 has slack take up means 32 and belts 6 and 7 have slack take up means 33. Between the guides 11 and 12 and mounted on transverse angles 34 and 35, mounted on uprights, 34 and 35' on the side frames 16, are a plurality of bottle aligning guides 36 which are equidistantly spaced from each other and from the side guides to form a plurality of forwardly moving rows of bottles, the rows equal the number of pockets in the bottle washing machine as they are arranged in transverse horizontal rows. The leading ends 37 of the guides 36 are spaced from each other and their adjacent ones from the side guides approximately the distance of the diameter of the bottles.

The conveyors ll, 6 and 7 are preferably of a formation like that shown in Figure 4 in which there are weft strands or rods 38 with helical surface warp members 39 joining adjacent weft members 38 and the next adjacent surface Warp members 46 have helical turns between each turn of warp member 39. The helical Warp members 39 and 40 are bent on their surfaces to form fiat angularly diverging pushing elevations, in view of the rounded cross section of the wires making up the helical warp members. These diverging influences counteract one another in their forward moving direction, but they tend to keep the bottles agitated and from stopping on any dead center in front such as another bottle or the leading ends 37 of the guides 36. Consequently as the bottles move forwardly,

carried by the conveyor and as the leading bottles are stopped at the bottle washing machine conveyor, the bottles tend to accumulate on the belts and to spread out transversely and to fit between the guides36 to form longitudinally extending rows for presentation 10 the bottle washing conveyor.

The arrangement of the conveyors and guides shown in Figure 7 is identical to that above described except that the length of the conveyor 1 may be less and consequently this form may be more adaptable where there is less space available between the washing machine and the case unloader for the bottle feeder of this invention. In this alternate form the side guides 41 and 42 are inwardly angularly directed as at 43 and the guides 44 adjacent the side guides are angled to direct the bottles to the outward lines. By this construction it is not possible to get so many bottles lined up in rows prior to entering the guides as is the case with the preferred modification shown in Figure l.

Spaced from the conveyors 1, 6 and 7, as they round the pulley 3 are transverse angles 45 mounted in the sides of the frame 16. To these angles 45 are affixed curved ways 46, Two of these ways 46 form a track for a single bottle, the ways rising from a vertical position, and curving away from the direction of bottle feed, turn horizontal so that as a bottle is pushed along the ways it turns from an upright to a horizontal position. The aligning guides over the conveyors terminate adjacent the roller 3 but small sectioned guides 47 are likewise mounted on transverse angles 45 to maintain the bottles in accurate transverse alignment as they bear against the ways 46. Chains 48 carry transverse pushers 49 between them and these chains are driven by sprocket 50 on shaft 51 and the chains 48 carry the pushers around the track or guides 52, which runs substantially parallel with the ways 46 through the extent of the ways to thereby guide the chains and their attached pushers 49 around under the bottles, to raise the bottles along the curved ways 46 and to push them into the pockets of the bottle washing conveyor 13, after which the pushers leave the bottoms of the bottles to follow their mounting chain down around the sprockets 50.

One sprocket St), the two are are fixed to their shaft 51, is driven in timed relation with the washing machine conveyor 13 by means of a cam 53 mounted on a shaft 54 which is turned either by the washing machine conveyor 13 or by its driving mechanism. The sprocket Si) is given rotary motion in one direction to move the conveyor or pushers 49 upwardly and forwardly, as above described by the periodic actuation of the rack 55 driving pinion 56 fixed on shaft 51. The position to which the pinion 56 has been moved is maintained by the pawl 57 catching in the ratchet 58.

Shoes 59 hold the rack 55 against the pinion 56. Rack 55 is forced downwardly by air pressure from air cylinder 60, the moving piston of which is preferably aligned in tandem with a hydraulic check cylinder 61 and admission of air to the cylinder 69 is controlled by two solenoid valves 62 and 63, valve 62 being closed by its solenoid by the closing of the switch 64, the actuating part of which is operated by the cam 53. After a transverse row of bottles has been placed into the washing machine from the ways 46 the rack 55, having reached its lower position, actuates switch 65 to in turn actuate the solenoid valve 63 to again raise the rack 55 so that it will be ready for a further downward thrust and for the insertion of a further horizontal row of botties in the washing machine conveyor 13 by the actuation of the cam 53.

As shown best in Figures 3 and a plurality of horizontal fingers 66, which are inverted U-shaped members are hinged at 67 from angle 63 suspended above the angle 35 by uprights 69. These pivoted fingers are spaced centraily above each pair of ways 46 and as the bottles are raised on the ways by the pushers 49, the bottles raise the fingers and then the fingers lie down upon the bottles to hold them horizontal. Some of the bottles reach the feeder of this invention partially filled with liquid and as they are turned horizontally, the liquid tends to run forward in the bottles and turn the top of the bottles down so that the bottle top might touch the lower edge of the bottle washing machine conveyor pocket, rather than going into that pocket. These fingers 66 prevent this downward tilting of the tops of the bottles. After the bottles have passed from the ways, the fingers simply fall to the ways themselves until they are pushed up again by a succeeding bottle.

The air cylinder and hydraulic check and solenoid operating valves above described are preferably of the Bellows Air Motor Hydro-Check style, and they are commercially available on the market.

The operation of the improved bottle feeder of this invention will be apparent from the above description. It will also be apparent that many modifications may be made in the detailed construction without departing from the invention which is defined in the following claims.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A feeder for upright bottles and like articles comprising a substantially horizontal endless belt conveyor, article guides adjacent the opposite sides of the conveyor arranged in diverging position relative to the forward travel of the conveyor, a plurality of aligning article guides above the conveyor between the side guides positioned to form and receive respectively therebetween a plurality of rows of articles the guides being substantially equally spaced from each other and between said side guides the separate article guides diverging at an increasing angle as they approach the side guides, said side guides at the leading ends of the aligning guides being spaced from each other a distance only slightly greater than the sums of the diameters of the articles plus the added thickness of the guides, the conveyor carrying the bottles from a relatively narrow part of the conveyor to a relatively wide part thereof, to the aligning guides and then between them and the side guides in diverging rows beginning with the aligning guides, curved ways at the delivery end of said conveyor rising from a vertical position to substantially a horizontal position, said guides terminating short of said ways, conveyor guides parallel to and adjacent said curved ways, a lifting endless conveyor in and guided by said conveyor guides having longitudinally spaced means thereon passing and extending between the horizontal conveyor and curved ways to engage the article bottoms and raise them on and along the ways, means to drive the lifting endless conveyor to raise successive transverse rows of articles from the substantially horizontal conveyor and deliver them to the substantially horizontal ways.

2. A feeder for upright bottles and like articles comprising a substantially horizontal endless belt conveyor, article guides adjacent the opposite sides of the conveyor arranged in diverging position relative to the forward travel of the conveyor, a plurality of aligning article guides above the conveyor between the side guides positioned to form and receive respectively therebetween a plurality of rows of articles the guides being substantially equally spaced from each other and between said side guides the separate article guides diverging at an increasing angle as they approach the side guides, said side guides at the leading ends of the aligning guides, being spaced from each other a distance only slightly greater than the sums of the diameters of the articles plus the added thickness of the guides, the conveyor carrying the bottles from a relatively narrow part of the conveyor to a relatively wide part thereof, to the aligning guides and then between them and the side guides in diverging rows beginning with the aligning guides, said conveyor including means to agitate the articles before and during their entrance between the aligning guides, curved ways at the delivery ends of said conveyor rising from a vertical position to substantially a horizontal. position, said guides terminating short of said ways, conviyor guides parallel to and adjacent said curved ways, a lifting endless conveyor in and guided by said conveyor guides having longitudinally spaced means thereon passing and extending between the horizontal conveyor and curved ways to engage the article bottoms and raise them on and along the ways, means to drive the lifting endless conveyor to raise successive transverse rows of articles from. the substantially horizontal conveyor and deliver them to the substantially horizontal ways.

3. A feeder for upright bottles and like articles con prising substantially horizontal endless belt conveyor having an infeed end and a discharge end, article guides adjacent the opposite sides of the conveyor arranged in diverging position relative to the forward travel of the conveyor means to slow the delivery of bottles from the delivery end of the conveyor to accumulate them on the conveyor and spread them between said guides, a plurality of stationary aligning article guides above the conveyor between the side guides spaced substantially from the infeed end of the conveyor position adjacent the delivery end thereof to form and receive respectively therebetween a plurality of rows of articles the guides being substantially equally spaced from each other and between said side guides the separate article guides diverging at an increasing angle as they approach the side guides, said side guides at the leading ends of the aligning guides being spaced from each other a distance only slightly greater than the sums of the diameters of the articles plus the added thickness of the guides, the conveyor carrying the bottles front a relatively narrow part of the conveyorto a relatively wide part thereof, to the aligning guides and then between them and the side guides in diverging rows beginning with the aligning guides. i

4. The feeder of claim 3 in which said conveyor includes means to agitate the articles before and during their entrance between the aligning guides.

5. The feeder of claim 3 in which the upper surface of the conveyor has thereon ridges diverging angularly with the forward direction of conveyor travel to agitate the articles and prevent their jamming against themselves and the ends of the aligning guides.

6. A feeder for upright bottles and like articles comprising a substantially horizontal endless conveyor havlog a plurality of guides thereover extending in the direction of conveyor travel to carry a plurality of rows of articles therebetween, curved ways at the delivery end of said conveyor rising from a vertical position to substan tially a horizontal position, said guides terminating short of said ways, conveyor guides parallel to and adjacent said curved ways, a lifting endless conveyor in and guided by said conveyor guides having longitudinally spaced means thereon passing and extending between the horizontal conveyor and curved ways to engage the article bottoms and raise them on and along the ways, means to drive the lifting endless conveyor always in one direction to raise successive transverse rows of articles from the substantially horizontal conveyor and deliver them to the substantially horizontal ways.

7. The feeder of claim 6 including means above the horizontal portion of the ways to maintain bottles carried thereon horizontal.

8. A feeder for upright bottles and like articles comprising a substantially horizontal endless conveyor having a plurality of guides thereover extending in the direction of conveyor travel to carry a plurality of rows of articles therebetween, curved ways at the delivery end of said conveyor rising from a vertical position to substantially a horizontal. position, said guides terminating short of said ways, a lifting endless conveyor adjacent said ways having longitudinally spaced means thereon to engage the article bottoms and raise them on and along the ways, yielding rack means to drive the lifting endless conveyor always in one direction and step-by-step to raise successive transverse rows of articles from the substantially horizontal conveyor and deliver them to the substantially horizontal ways and means to return the rack driving means for successive driving strokes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,959 Butler Apr. 25, 1893 1,787,983 Hippenmeyer Jan. 6, 1931 1,952,873 King Mar. 27, 1934 2,128,192 Risser Aug. 23, 1938 2,326,165 Pelosi Aug. 10, 1943 2,679,309 Reading May 25, 1954 2,687,203 Ladewig Aug. 24, 1954 

